Protesters Give Fur Coats Cold Shoulder

WEST HARTFORD — Shoppers were not the only ones drawn to a local furrier Friday, on what traditionally has been the year's busiest shopping day.

A modest group of animal-rights activists, some of whom adorned their clothes with fake blood, staged a midday protest on South Main Street.

FOR THE RECORD - [Ran 11/29/94, p. B2:]Lloyd's-Robarts Furs in West Hartford sells about 1,000 coats a year. The number of coats sold was incorrectly reported on Page B2 Saturday.

About 20 people from three animal-rights groups gathered on the sidewalk in front of Lloyd's Robart's Furs, 43 S. Main St., about noon. As customers -- many wearing fur coats -- dashed into the building, they were met with signs reading, ``Coldhearted People Wear Fur,'' ``Fur Hurts'' and ``Fur Is a Bloody Business.''

``I felt a little intimidated, but I won't let them stop me,'' said Lorna McKelvie, of South Windsor, who was buying her second fur coat from the store. ``I like the look, they keep me warm and I've always wanted one. Now I have two.''

Russel Johnson, president and owner of Robart's, said it was the first time a protest has been staged at the store in more than a decade.

``They have a right to protest, but they don't have a right to drive me out of business,'' Johnson said. He said he sells about 8,000 fur coats a year at an average price of $2,000 to $3,000 each.

``What really gets me is that they are wearing leather sneakers, eating meat and they benefit from medical research on animals,'' Johnson said.

Leaders of the protest said such comments are meant to draw attention away from the issue of fur. None of the protesters eats meat or wears leather sneakers, the leaders said. They said the protest was organized to educate the public about what they see as the cruelty of the fur industry.

``We want to make the public aware of the pain and suffering involved with fur coats,'' said protester Carol Taft of Tolland. ``We don't think there is anything beautiful about fur. It's not glamorous.''

A police officer made a quick visit during the demonstration, reminding participants to stay out of the street and not to stop cars or pedestrians.

A few of the protesters brought ``fake blood,'' a mixture of food coloring and corn syrup, which was sprayed on coats they brought for the demonstration. None of the mixture was sprayed on store customers.

One woman wore a white fur coat splattered with the fake blood, while another fur coat was displayed on a parking meter in an animal trap dripping with the mixture.

One protester took her cause to great lengths, standing on the sidewalk wearing little more than a sign hanging from her shoulders. Underneath, she wore a bathing suit.

``As long as I keep moving, it's not bad,'' said Lisa Gottier of Tolland, who stood in the chill wind wearing a sign that read, ``I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur.''

``Fur is very cruel,'' she said. ``It's extremely cruel, it's extremely horrible and it's extremely unnecessary. People should not be making money at the expense of other species.''